My Furry Family

I cannot imagine my life without animals. Not having my own furry snuggle buddy for 4 years while I was at college was practically torture. I love animals and need to have them around me. Needless to say, as soon as we got our own apartment, we began adopting animals. I never have and never will "shop" for an animal. There are so many furry critters out there that need a forever home- so please adopt, don't shop! Right now we have 2 cats and a dog. I love them so, so much! They do make me think a lot about waste though. Animals create a lot of waste. There are not many options out there for "package free" animal food/treats/litter/etc. I've basically tried to cut our waste, as well as focused on what type of waste I am creating. I want to emphasize that while I do strive to be waste free, the health and happiness of my animals will always come first. So now let me introduce you to my fuzz babies!

Yoga kitties!

Zero waste hygiene

One of the most common questions I get if I mention that I am working towards a zero waste life is... "what about shampoo/deodorant/toothpaste...". I was a bit puzzled at first as well, but once I got the hang of it and found my favorite products, everything was smooth sailing!

Waste free grocery haul

One of my favorite traditions that came from beginning my waste-free lifestyle is our weekly trip to the farmers market. Rain or shine, we head out early Saturday morning, fill up out reusable mugs at our favorite coffee shop, and pick up some beautiful goodies! We then head over to our local co-op to grab stuff in bulk (rice, coffee, granola, pasta, etc).

What to bring:
Whenever I go shopping I always bring large reusable bags, hand-crocheted produce bags, hand made cloth bulk bags, a few China pens (wax pens that can write on pretty much anything!) and a few mason jars. I consider these to be my essentials for waste free shopping!

some mason jars, bulk bags I sewed with Muslin and leftover ribbon, crocheted produce bags

Farmers Market goodies

Just wanted to share our delicious, zero waste snack from the Farmers Market! Nothing better than locally grown watermelon on a hot day. Yum! The rinds will be flavoring some homemade kombucha later today.

Hello!

Several months ago I happened upon a wonderful website. Someone had posted a link on facebook, the title screaming "GIRL HASN'T MADE WASTE IN 2 YEARS!!!!!". I was very intrigued- I considered myself to be fairly "eco-friendly", but not making waste?? That seemed nuts. So I had to check it out. For the next several hours I was entranced by the blog Trash is for Tossers, written by the lovely Lauren Singer. Her blog became my inspiration. I ever discovered a few more jems along the way, some other favorites being the No Trash Project and the Zero Waste Chef. With the guidance of these blogs, I began to slowly transition away from plastic, packaging, and waste, and found myself relying on bulk aisles and the beautiful produce at my local farmers market. We now only have to take the trash out every few weeks, and only because it is a bit smelly, not because it is full! Recycling is the same- I am slowly but surely whittling down the amount we produce and finding new alternatives to single-use containers. I have found that is has given me great pleasure to see out household waste shrink. If this sounds like the lifestyle for you, stick around! I promise it is simple and fun, and will bring you a great amount of joy!